Orchard tar is an effective and quite long used agent to protect tree wounds. Places lubricated with tar should be dry, and the tar should be sufficiently fluid, so that it fills well in the unevenness of the cut surface. For these reasons, tar should not be applied to wounds during frost, nor cover wet wounds, because on wet surfaces the coating adheres poorly and does not fill in properly. Under such a poorly adherent coating, water from rainfall or, more often, from the condensation of water vapor from the wood can collect.. This can of course contribute to the decomposition of the wood, instead of holding him back.
Water-based paint turned out to be a better way to cover the surface of wounds. It creates a fairly durable microporous coating that prevents the wood from getting wet with free water, while allowing the wood to dry under the coating. Water-soluble fungicides can be added to the emulsion paint, which, while covering the wound, penetrate with water into the wood. In Poland, such a preparation is produced under the name Funaben 3. It is a grey-green dense emulsion paint with an addition of a fungicide.
Cutting wounds should be lubricated at least once a year until they are covered with healing tissue. Inspections are best done on warm spring days, before the leaves unfold.
The cut sites can also be disinfected when wet by lubricating them with aqueous solutions or suspensions of fungicides, such as e.g.. Topsin or Miedzian. For this purpose, no steam agents should be used, used for disinfecting wood, because they burn the pulp (cambium).
Chemicals such as growth regulators may be added to the preparations used for disinfecting and treating wounds, causing healing tissue to build up faster and to overgrow the wound.